


all I'm asking for is a little respect when you get home (just a little bit)

by zombiejuju



Series: Sexy September [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Arguing, Fighting, Fluff, Jalec Sexy September, M/M, Making Up, Melodrama, Sappy, Sparring, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 12:01:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12210870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zombiejuju/pseuds/zombiejuju
Summary: Jace cuddles up to Alec’s back, arm encircling his waist, lips pressed to his neck, “I’msorry.”“Don’t be,” Alec says. He tries to keep his tone even as he shrugs out of Jace’s embrace, “Just be ready to take over tomorrow.”(This is a sequel to "holy shit, it actually worked out in our favor".)





	all I'm asking for is a little respect when you get home (just a little bit)

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "Respect" by Aretha Franklin.
> 
> Warnings: Mild violence, near death experiences, power struggles, and neglect.
> 
> Prompted by [Jalec Sexy September: Bonus - Teamwork](https://jalec-net.tumblr.com/post/164406907655/sexy-september-jalec-challenge).

The strangest part about being married to Alec is learning how to work with him and his team. Jace’s a bit of a lone wolf. The few times he went out on a mission with someone else, it was Clary and he was _always_ in charge. Alec isn’t some inexperienced newbie, though. He’s a veteran soldier, and even more than that, he’s a leader. Regardless of all the ways Jace leads their relationship, Alec is the alpha male when it comes to business.

* * *

Alec rotates his swords in fancy, purposeless gestures. Jace copies him, swinging his axes around, “We both know how this is going to end.”

“Do we?” Alec asks, rushing toward Jace and striking at him.

“Yup. The same way it always does,” Jace grunts out when their weapons clash, crossing together. He pushes forward, trying to break Alec’s power stance, “You on the floor and me in your lap.”

Alec rolls his eyes but falters. Jace knocks the swords from his grasp. His hair falls over the right side of his face, eyes feral and smile predatory. He drops his axes and runs at Alec, tackling him to the ground. Alec lands with a groan and Jace clambers into his lap.

“See?” Jace says, eyes shining and a victorious smile stretching his lips. He grinds down on Alec, “You. Floor. Me. Lap.”

“Boys, focus,” Inquisitor Herondale scolds. She walks into the training room and sighs at Jace’s playful smirk, “Jace, you have to learn to work together.”

“It can’t be that hard. Well not as hard as some _other_ things,” Jace says, making Inquisitor Herondale grimace in disgust.

* * *

“If you hadn’t interrupted every single training session with sex,” Alec starts. He bandages Jace’s wrist and activates his _iratze_ , “You wouldn’t be hurt right now.”

“Please. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Next time we might not be so lucky. We need to learn to fight together.”

“I just wanted to show off for you,” Jace pouts.

“Staying alive is more important than impressing me.”

“I don’t need to work with you to stay alive,” Jace scowls. He pushes Alec away and crosses his arms over his bare chest, “I was just fine before you came along.”

“Nice,” Alec says. He spins away from Jace and leaves the infirmary.

* * *

“Alec?” Jace whispers as he creeps into the dark bedroom they share, “Are you still awake?”

Alec shifts, moving onto his back. He blinks his eyes open and glares at the ceiling, right arm stretching out onto the empty side of their bed and the other coming to rest across his forehead, “Yes.”

“Were you waiting for me?” Jace asks, hovering by the foot of their bed.

“You know I was.”

“I’m sorry for what I said.”

“I know,” Alec says. He pats the bed beside him and Jace takes the hint, sliding under the comforter to lay beside him. Alec takes his hand and intertwines their fingers, kissing each of Jace’s knuckles, “But your independent, lone wolf bullshit? It’s gotta stop.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Then maybe we shouldn’t go on missions together. Maybe you should keep fighting alongside Clary.”

“What would that change?” Jace asks, eyebrows furrowing as he glares at the exposed rafters above their bed.

“You have a hard time taking orders. You can be in charge with her. And...we distract each other. If I have to spend all my time worrying about you, where you are and what you’re doing, I can’t do my job.”

“You promised that you’d never tell me what to do.”

Alec sighs, takes his hand from Jace’s, and turns onto his side to face him. He tucks a hand beneath his head and uses the other to draw invisible patterns on Jace’s stomach with caressing fingertips, “I meant at home. In our relationship. In the field and at the Institute, I’m the boss.”

“Technically, we’re co-heads.”

“Okay, how about this?” Alec starts. He removes his hand from Jace’s torso, “Next mission we have, you take the lead.”

“You’re mad again, aren’t you?”

“Yup,” Alec says, rolling over onto his other side, back to Jace.

Jace cuddles up to Alec’s back, arm encircling his waist, lips pressed to his neck, “I’m _sorry_.”

“Don’t be,” Alec says. He tries to keep his tone even as he shrugs out of Jace’s embrace, “Just be ready to take over tomorrow.”

* * *

Alec’s alarm goes off at 5:30am, blaring beeps jerking Jace out of his dreams. He groans, trying to burying himself deeper in the covers. He manages to cocoon himself in their comforter, which tells him that Alec is already gone. Jace sits up in bed, confused and trying to blink away sleep. He smacks the ringing monstrosity to end the alarm and watches as _something_ floats to the floor beneath their bed.

Jace bends over the edge of their bed, thighs holding him in place while he peers underneath the frame. His hair dangles in his vision, forehead vein swelling as blood rushes to his head and his core strains at keeping him upright. He spots a small, white cube of paper and frowns. One hand grasping the base of their bed, he uses the other to drag the sticky note out. He pulls himself back up, leaning against the headboard for support, and brushes his hair back with a free hand. Holding the note in his other, he reads it:

‘Jace,

Don’t go back to sleep. You’re the boss today. Meeting at 7. Reports til lunch. We can spar after that. Then we have a mission with Izzy and Clary.

\- Alec’

“Didn’t even say he loves me,” Jace huffs. He crumbles the note, tosses it on the floor, and yanks himself out of bed.

* * *

“Haven’t seen you all day,” Jace says. He steps out onto the garden they’ve been using for training. He doesn’t look Alec in the eye and he doesn’t move closer to him.

“I knew you were busy. Thought I’d leave you to your work,” Alec replies, picking up two swords.

Jace stalks toward him, stopping a foot away. Alec goes to hand him a sword but freezes when he sees that Jace’s eyes are narrowed and he’s abusing his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Yeah, but I make a fucking point of checking in with you. Check in _on_ you,” Jace says, jabbing a finger at Alec’s chest. Alec flinches, “I can’t believe you’re so fucking mad at me that you’d leave me to fend for myself all fucking day.”

“So you admit it. You need me. I should be in charge,” Alec says. He smirks, smug, and places the weapons back on a rack. His arms cross over his chest, “You’d rather follow orders than give them.”

“Wait, no!” Jace starts, embarrassment tinting his cheeks, “All I meant was that I wanted to see my husband.”

Alec hums and drops his arms to hang by his sides.

* * *

Their mission with Izzy and Clary is a total failure. They’re supposed to clear out a vampire den that’s been the cause of dozens of civilian deaths in the last couple of weeks. Alec thinks it’s painfully standard. He should be doing more important things as the Head of the Institute. They should be sending Izzy and Clary out with trainees instead.

But Inquisitor Herondale insists they take this job. She says its inherent easiness would help them learn to work as a team; and that even if the job was simple to professional shadowhunters, the newbies would most certainly die if sent out. What she fails to mention, however, is that the vampires have an army of venom addicted mundanes and shadowhunters. Most of them are weak, easy to put down because of their addiction, but a few of them are clearly bartering blood for blood with the vampires if their speed and strength is anything to go by.

The struggle against an army of creatures that can walk in the sunlight wakes up the actual vampires, who feel safe attacking because most of the windows are blocked out. Aware of how outnumbered they are, they start retreating. Izzy and Clary break down the front door, rushing into glorious sunlight. A scream sounds from behind them.

They turn back to the den. Some blonde vampire has her fangs clamped around Jace’s arm. Jace isn’t fighting her off. Clary’s runs back toward the building but Izzy wraps an arm around her elbow, stopping her. The vampire explodes into hot ash, exposing Alec holding his sword, sharp tip where the vampire used to be.

“Venom acts faster than I thought,” Jace says. His knees buckle and he sways, blood dripping from his arm. Alec lifts him and cradles him against his chest, carrying him out, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Alec says, “You’re okay. Just hold on, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jace whispers, pressing his face to Alec’s chest, “Love you.”

“I love you too,” Alec returns, soft, as Jace drifts into unconsciousness in his embrace. He readjusts Jace’s weight in his arms.

* * *

Jace awakes, eyes blinking open. He groans and looks to the side, fluorescent lights causing a spike of pain in his head. The first thing he sees is Alec’s white shirt destroyed by blood splatter. He swallows, throat dry, and gazes at a point just beyond Alec’s head.

“I feel like someone dropped a house on me,” He grits out.

“Vampire venom.”

“Yeah.”

“We need to learn to work together,” Alec says. He aims to grab Jace’s hand but Jace pulls away.

“Can we not do this right now?”

“Just, listen. Please.”

Jace looks at his face and sighs, “Fine.”

“We need to learn to work as a team because if we don’t, if we can’t even do the ‘strength in numbers’ thing right...” Alec’s voice turns quiet, hoarse with the strain of holding tears back, “I almost lost you today.”

“Alec, today was a fluke.”

“It was not. It was a simple mission and we failed.”

“There were surprises. It’s not our fault.”

“It  _ is _ my fault. If I stopped letting you distract me during training…” Alec trails off, eyebrows stringing together in frustration, “If we were in sync, if we knew how to work together, we could’ve adapted. But we don’t, and we can’t. And right now you and Clary, both members of  _ my _ team, are unpredictable to me. I only know what me and Izzy are going to do.”

“‘S not your fault,” Jace says. He runs a hand through his hair, “I’ll work on it.”

“ _ We’ll _ work on it,” Alec corrects.

Jace takes Alec’s hand, “We’re supposed to be a team. We have to make decisions  _ together _ . You can’t just boss me around.”

“Okay,” Alec acquiesces, pressing his lips to Jace’s for a quick kiss, “You’re right.”


End file.
